After finishing the combat uniforms for everyone, Haibara Meow once again buried herself inside the laboratory. Compared to flashy things like combat uniforms, what truly fascinated the little kitten was still the bloodline factor—the core technology of Germa.
But the bloodline factor was indeed worthy of being called the pinnacle of bioengineering in the pirate world. Even Haibara Meow couldn't fully master it in a short period of time.
Aside from the research-obsessed Haibara Meow, Sherwin and the others returned to their usual days of charting maps while also running the Felynes mobile sea restaurant.
As time went on, the fame Sherwin had stirred up earlier gradually began to fade. Soon enough, clueless fools—or pirates who wanted to make a name for themselves by stepping on the "Hunter"—started showing up to cause trouble.
Sherwin gladly accepted the bounties these idiots delivered to his doorstep, earning quite a few extra profits.
On this particular day, the Dodo Advance docked as usual by a newly discovered island. Sherwin took the two cats ashore first to map the area and purchase supplies.
After they returned to the ship, they hoisted a light tan-colored flag—its center marked with a brown paw print, with a knife and fork on one side and chopsticks on the other—signifying that the "Felynes Restaurant" was officially open for business.
The islanders who had heard of the restaurant reputation, and even those who came specifically for it, rushed aboard the moment they saw the flag rise.
"Klee fried fish! Klee fried fish! Klee fried fish!"
A group of children, dragging along their parents, immediately ran to the enormous glass fish tank.
Meanwhile, the food lovers made their way to Sanji Meow station. Sherwin grill, on the other hand, was basically unattended—unless a big eater like Luffy or Bonney came along.
With bursts of explosions, splashes of water rising high, and the cheers of the gathered customers, the entire Felynes Restaurant bustled into operation.
With nothing to do for the moment, Sherwin leaned casually against the side of the ship, keeping his Observation Haki active at all times in case of any accidents…
And then, the accident happened.
A pirate ship, about half the size of the Dodo Advance, approached from afar. The auras coming from it felt strange—one of them was incredibly strong, while the rest gave Sherwin a sense of being somehow "incomplete."
But the moment Sherwin saw the design of the ship, he immediately understood why it felt so odd.
It was a single-masted paddle steamer, its exterior seemingly pieced together with cookies and candy. Atop its lone mast flew a pirate flag depicting a skull with pink hair and a Napoleon hat.
This flag was hardly unfamiliar to Sherwin. Back in the Queen of Spring City, he had already seen it—it was the flag of one of the Four Emperors, the Big Mom Pirates.
"Click…"
Sherwin didn't need to think hard to guess why they had deliberately come looking for him. But still…
Back then, every time Big Mom tried to send people to the West Blue to kidnap chefs, the Navy always managed to drive them back.
So how come now, when someone came all the way to cause trouble for him, these North Blue Navy couldn't even stop them?
The Navy of the North Blue really isn't that good!
"Sorry, everyone. Today our restaurant has to close early."
Sherwin grumbled as he began ushering the customers off the ship.
At first, the guests voiced complaints. But once Sherwin informed them that members of the Big Mom Pirates were on their way, they all bolted faster than rabbits.
As for Sherwin and the others, of course, they had no intention of running. Even though Klee Meow could fire up the flame propulsion system and the paddle steamer would never catch up, this wasn't Big Mom herself. To flee without even fighting—that would be far too disgraceful.
Besides, judging from the auras Sherwin sensed, it was obvious that Big Mom had only sent one officer across the Calm Belt to the North Blue using the paddle steamer, deliberately avoiding the Navy eyes. The rest of those incomplete auras were clearly just Homies.
Under such circumstances, Sherwin saw no reason for them to retreat. Even if the one sent was Katakuri, he didn't think he would lose.
In fact, part of him even hoped it was Katakuri. Maybe he could take the opportunity to train his Observation Haki like Luffy had, and reach that realm of "seeing the future."
As the "Dessert Ship," which resembled a floating restaurant even more than the Dodo Advance, gradually approached, Sherwin finally saw the figure standing at the bow—a middle-aged man with a long beard, his entire body filled with cookie-like features.
So it was Cracker…
Sherwin felt a slight pang of disappointment, though after thinking it through, it made sense. Cracker ability allowed him to muster an entire army alone.
And if the ship sustained any damage, as long as the broken parts didn't touch seawater, he could use his cookies to make temporary repairs. Indeed, he was very well-suited for solo operations.
Watching the cookie warrior beard and cape fluttering in the wind, even though Sherwin was already used to the bizarre powers of Devil Fruits, he still couldn't resist the urge to complain…
It was one thing for the cookies made by the Biscuit-Biscuit Fruit to be as hard as iron, but how on earth could they turn into soft beards and capes? Didn't that completely go against the very nature of "cookies"?!
Without waiting for his ship to dock at the harbor, Cracker, hiding inside his biscuit soldier, directly controlled his "shell" to leap onto the Dodo Advance.
Bang!
Cracker landed steadily on the deck and looked at Sherwin, who had been waiting for quite some time.
"Looks like you've recognized me, huh?"
The expression on the biscuit soldier face was so lifelike that it was hard to believe this thing was entirely made of biscuits from head to toe.
While still grumbling inwardly about this unscientific Devil Fruit, Sherwin nodded and said, "One of Big Mom Sweet Commanders of the Big Mom Pirates, the Minister of Biscuits of Totto Land, 'Thousand Arms Charlotte Cracker, with a bounty of 650 million… I usually capture pirates for bounty money, so of course I know you."
At this point in time, Cracker bounty was slightly lower than it would be years later, but as a long-established Sweet Commander, he had already broken past the 500 million mark—worth even more than the old man Chinjao.
"Seems like you don't plan to obediently come back with me to see Mama…" A vivid, hideous grin spread across the biscuit soldier face as the unmistakable voice came from its mouth.
"But you've got one thing wrong—right now, there are only three Sweet Commanders. Snack was stripped of his title after failing a mission."
"Oh… doesn't that mean the Three Commanders are about to become the Two Commanders?" Sherwin tugged at the corner of his mouth, continuing to provoke.
"Hmph! You've got quite the mouth on you." The biscuit soldier drew the massive double-bladed sword on its back, the one named Pretzel, and pointed it at Sherwin.
"If you think you can do it, then come try. Defeat me, and naturally you can turn me in for the bounty… if you've got the guts."
Unable to spot any flaws in the biscuit soldier, Sherwin shrugged and suggested, "Don't you want to try our food first? What if it doesn't taste as good as you expect? That way everyone saves the trouble."
It wasn't that Sherwin was suddenly trying to soften up or act hospitable—he was genuinely curious about what this biscuit soldier would look like when "eating."
Unfortunately, his probing failed. The biscuit soldier grinned and said, "My mission is only to bring you back to Mama. Whether your cooking passes or not isn't my concern…" He paused,
then added, "But for the sake of your lives—and those Felynes of yours—you'd better hope your cooking is up to par."
"Fine then…" Sherwin sighed helplessly and tilted his head toward the shore. "Let fight on land. I don't want my ship getting wrecked."
"Heh heh heh, not that it necessary, but since you're being so considerate…"
Confident in his own strength, Cracker was more than willing to oblige, and together with Sherwin leapt off the Dodo Advance.
Once both sides were in position, Sherwin drew the Longsword from his back. Without another word, he slashed straight at Cracker.
Armament Haki + Spirit Blade Slash + demon mode: Beast
Monster Hunter Style · Crimson Meteor!